Theresa May to pledge £140m to tackle climate change effects on poor countries

Written by:

Nicholas Mairs

Posted On:

12th December 2017

Theresa May will today pledge £140m to help the world’s poorest communities cope with the effects and causes of climate change.

Theresa May will outline the latest UK commitments to tackling climate change in Paris

Credit:

PA Images

The Prime Minister will make the announcement to assist those disproportionately affected by deforestation or vulnerable to natural disasters and climate extremes as part of the One Planet Summit in Paris.

The Government says the funding will help two million more of the world’s poorest cope with climate shocks, provide irrigation for better harvests, support planting more resilient crops, improve forecasting and help to develop insurance schemes.

The money will include boosting the Department for International Development’s Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters (BRACED) programme by £30m.

Meanwhile a further £87m is to be spent through DFID’s Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) Programme, as part of the fight against illegal tree felling while supporting trade in legal timber.

The Prime Minister will also announce £15m of additional support for reconstruction on the island of Dominica in the Caribbean, which helped rebuild the island’s water system after it was largely destroyed by Hurricane Maria.

The UK will also hand a further £8m towards better crisis and response operations on the islands; training and improvements to communications systems; casualty management training; and mapping of high risk areas.

Mrs May will tell delegates that the UK is to host the international Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in Autumn 2018, while the UK is to strengthen ties with Canada in order to reduce international use of unabated coal.

Speaking ahead of her address to the summit, she said: “Tackling climate change and mitigating its effects for the world’s poorest are among the most critical challenges that we face.

“That is why I am joining other world leaders in Paris today for the One Planet Summit and committing to stand firmly with those on the front line of extreme weather and rising sea levels.

“And by redoubling our efforts to phase out coal, as well as build on our world leading electric car production, we are showing we can cut emissions in a way that supports economic growth.”